Toronto: The Indian diaspora gathered outside the Indian consulate with tricolour in a show of solidarity with its diplomats targeted with threats by pro-Khalistan extremist groups in Canada's Toronto.
They shouted slogans like ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Long Live India’ and ‘Canada stop supporting Khalistani Canadian terrorists’ as a counter-action to the protest rally by Khalistanis.
"We are standing here in front of the consulate to face the Khalistanis. We are trying to stop Khalistanis nonsense here and we are here for the solidarity of India and Canada, altogether. They are giving wrong information saying that they will kill our diplomats which is... and we are totally against that," one of the supporters said.
Khalistani supporters had called for worldwide rallies outside Indian diplomatic missions in Canada, the UK, US, and Australia over in the wake of the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last month.
This was followed by threatening posters of Indian ambassadors being circulated as part of the so-called “Kill India” rally. The Indian government had raised the issue with its partner allies to ensure the safety and security of its diplomatic staff.
In the UK, a small group gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London amid a tightened security presence by the Metropolitan Police. Meanwhile in the US, Indian Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu arrived at the Indian embassy and after reviewing the security arrangements declared that everything seemed calm.
It came after San Francisco witnessed an attempted arson attack by extremists and violent rhetoric aimed at Indian diplomats, including Sandhu, earlier this month. Security had been beefed up outside the Indian embassy in Washington DC.